Baluster Calculations

[@dhingus6699]

Cheers mate. Never done stairs before in my life. Started a new job and they sent me to do balustrades. They sent me a link to this video. Turns out my horizontal spacing is 123.7mm. Cheap bastards couldn't afford to chuck in another baluster to close the gap alittle.

[@Buildsum]

Hi Mate, glad to hear that the video worked for you, yeah unfortunately nowdays it is all about getting the minimum more than a good job.

[@chriskoh3082]

Very helpful thanks for posting, have you also got a table and explanation how to figure out width and thickness of stringer? I have watched setting out of stringer , much appreciated.

[@Buildsum]

Chris koh Hi Chris In Australia, Wood Solutions put out a set of span tables for stair components. You will need to register to be able to download them. www.woodsolutions.com.au/Articles/Resources/Installation-Guides

[@chriskoh3082]

Buildsum Thanks I will check it out

[@GloomRng]

Hi buildsum - is there a way to do this using the diagonal measurment of the base rail ? Some stairs i fit are hard to get an acurate straight measurement from post to post . Can you reverse the cos or something ?

[@Buildsum]

Hi Joe, not that i am aware of however if you were to use the angled length of the rail and the angled width of the baluster and use the same process you should be able to work it out. Hope this helps.

[@GloomRng]

@@Buildsum thanks for your reply i will give that a go !

[@johnhudson7977]

Hi Buildsum, I'm building a stainless steel wire external balustrade and I don't really want to use the typical 100 x100 post with a 35/45 cap. I want to use 140mm x 45mm for posts and capping and it will be painted. What timber could I use for this? Local hardware suggested Spotted Gum, but's it very expensive ($32LM) and the next best thing I can get is Hardwood rated H3. What do you think?

[@Buildsum]

Hi John, If you are going to paint it why not get H3 treated pine?

[@johnhudson7977]

Hi Buildsum, Thanks you for the quick response as usual! Do you think Treated Pine with be strong enough for the posts for stainless steel wire? I want to put the posts at 1200mm.

[@Buildsum]

Hi John, I would use as long a screw as possible but yes it should be strong enough

[@johnhudson7977]

Thanks again Buildsum! Love your work!

[@philcumings9436]

Excellent! Thank you.

[@Buildsum]

Thanks Phil Glad you like it, I hope they prove useful

[@SwinCarpentry]

Good job as usual. Maybe the method below, we teach our apprentice carpenters, is easier to follow? Spacing centres = max spacing + baluster width = 125 + 40 = 165mm therefore (995 + 40) / 165 = 6.2727* round up to 7 spacings (6 balusters) (995 + 40) / 7 = 147.8 centre to centre (round up to 148) for 6 balusters or 148 - 40 = 108mm between balusters.

[@simonnygaard8474]

Surely there's a method for spacing out balusters... Yes!!!! Thanks now I can sleep 👍👍👍

[@Buildsum]

Thanks Simon Hope you find it helpful

[@denisgray8274]

Does this work on every open size

[@Buildsum]

+Denis Gray Hi Denis Yes this should work with any opening size

[@chriskoh3082]

So coz is the word used for angle?

[@Buildsum]

Chris koh The cos or cosine of an angle is the ratio of the length of the adjacent side to the length of the hypotenuse: so called because it is the sine of the complementary or co-angle. If you use the cos function key on your scientific calculator with the angle you should bet the correct answer.

[@Buildsum]

Chris koh Hi Chris I have had a look at the video on my end and while the numbers are slightly blurry they are still quite easy to read. It might have something to do with your internet speed. Might be worth starting the video and then pausing for a minute or so to let it buffer fully.

[@chriskoh3082]

yes It was my computer playing up the blurr,.... thanks again for all the awesome information

[@wandakowalski7063]

You had me until you said Cos 42 ????